Author Archives: Ryan Watkins

Productive Struggle: The Future of Human Learning in the Age of AI ai.stanford.edu Walking through our computer science building, we can see ChatGPT on nearly every screen. Today, students can use AI at every stage of their learning process. For … Continued

Collaborative human-AI (HAI) teaming combines the unique skills and capabilities of humans and machines in sustained teaming interactions leveraging the strengths of each. In tasks involving regular exposure to novelty and uncertainty, collaboration between adaptive, creative humans and powerful, precise … Continued

Although empirical research on motivation has been growing, one remarkable observation is that the same major theories continue to dominate the field, and the constellation of motivation theories has changed very little in recent decades. We argue that this status … Continued

Alongside the growth of generative AI, we are witnessing a surge in the use of synthetic data across all stages of the AI development pipeline. It is now common practice for researchers and practitioners to use one large generative model … Continued

The proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI) tools has transformed numerous aspects of daily life, yet its impact on critical thinking remains underexplored. This study investigates the relationship between AI tool usage and critical thinking skills, focusing on cognitive offloading as … Continued

This paper introduces the “Thinking Through AI” framework, an innovative methodological approach designed to explore and enhance cognitive and collaborative processes in educational settings mediated by artificial intelligence (AI). Based in a synthesis of cognitive labs, think-aloud protocols, over-the-shoulder observations, … Continued

Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITSs) have revolutionized education by offering personalized learning experiences. However, as goal-oriented learning, which emphasizes efficiently achieving specific objectives, becomes increasingly important in professional contexts, existing ITSs often struggle to deliver this type of targeted learning experience. … Continued

Participation processes (PPs) are often promoted as tools to improve public policymaking, yet their causal impact on policy decisions remains inconsistent. Existing research on policy impact has faced criticism for lacking methodological rigor, transparency, and comparability, impeding knowledge cumulation. This … Continued

This opinion paper explores educational interactions involving humans and artificial intelligences not as sequences of prompts and responses, but as a social process of conversation and exploration. In this conception, learners continually converse with AI language models and other human … Continued